WO2019097667A1 - Communication abnormality diagnosis device, communication system, communication abnormality diagnosis method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

In the present invention, a measurement unit (12) measures a signal waveform of an ACK command that was transmitted by a communication device as an acknowledgement in response to a first control command when a second interval, which is shorter than a first interval established as a minimum transmission interval of a control command, had elapsed from the time at which the communication device received the first control command among the control commands. A diagnosis unit (175) diagnoses, on the basis of the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit (12), an abnormality in a communication pathway from the communication device to a communication abnormality diagnosis device. An output unit (178) outputs a diagnosis result generated by the diagnosis unit (175).

Description

Communication error diagnosis device, communication system, communication error diagnosis method, and program

The present invention relates to a communication abnormality diagnosis device, a communication system, a communication abnormality diagnosis method, and a program.

Currently, communication systems are known in which a plurality of communication devices are mutually connected via a pair of communication lines. As such a communication system, for example, there is an air conditioning system in which an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, and a remote controller are connected via a pair of communication lines. In such a communication system, at the time of construction, it is desirable to confirm whether or not a plurality of communication devices are correctly connected by a pair of communication lines.

At present, in such a communication system, various techniques are known for diagnosing communication errors in communication paths between a plurality of communication devices. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred by analyzing a signal flowing through a transmission path. Further, in Patent Document 1, when it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the technique of estimating the cause of the occurrence of the abnormality by comparing the waveform data of the signal before and after the abnormality has occurred with the waveform data of the normal signal. Is also described.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-318471

By the way, the signal waveform may be distorted due to an abnormality in the communication path such as an excess wiring length or a connector contact failure, or may be distorted due to a signal collision on the communication line. Therefore, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it can not be determined whether distortion of the signal waveform is due to an abnormality in the communication path or due to a signal collision, and the abnormality in the communication path Could not be diagnosed accurately. Therefore, a technology for accurately diagnosing an abnormality in a communication path is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication abnormality diagnosis device, a communication system, a communication abnormality diagnosis method, and a program for accurately diagnosing an abnormality in a communication path.

In order to achieve the above object, the communication abnormality diagnosis device according to the present invention is:
A communication abnormality diagnosis device connected to a communication device via a pair of communication lines, the communication abnormality diagnosis device comprising:
The communication device receives the first control command of the control command after the communication device receives the first control command, and a second interval shorter than the first interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed. Measuring means for measuring a signal waveform of an ACK command transmitted as an acknowledgment to the control command;
A diagnosis unit that diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis apparatus based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit;
And output means for outputting a diagnosis result by the diagnosis means.

In the present invention, a signal of an ACK command transmitted by the communication device when the communication device receives the first control command and a second interval shorter than the first interval determined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed. An abnormality in the communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosing device is diagnosed based on the waveform. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to diagnose an abnormality of the communication path with high accuracy.

The block diagram of the communication system concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention The block diagram of the outdoor unit which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention Functional configuration diagram of the outdoor unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of the indoor unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of the remote controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention Diagram showing an example of signal waveforms between a pair of communication lines Explanatory drawing of processing performed at the time of signal collision Explanatory drawing of the first interval and the second interval Illustration of waveform feature A flowchart showing communication error diagnosis processing executed by the outdoor unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention A flowchart showing a communication error diagnosis process performed by the outdoor unit according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention A configuration diagram of a communication system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of the communication error diagnosis device according to the third embodiment of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of the outdoor unit according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of the remote controller according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention

(Embodiment 1)
First, the configuration of a communication system 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The communication system 1000 is a system in which a plurality of communication devices communicate with each other, and is a system including a communication abnormality diagnosis device that diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path between the plurality of communication devices. In the present embodiment, an example in which the communication system 1000 is an air conditioning system and the communication abnormality diagnosis device is an outdoor unit 100 will be described.

The communication abnormality diagnosis device diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the first communication device to the second communication device based on a signal waveform of an ACK (Acknowledge) command transmitted from the first communication device to the second communication device. Do. The ACK command is guaranteed not to collide with other commands, as described later. Thus, the signal waveform of the ACK command is guaranteed to be free of distortion due to signal collisions. According to the diagnosis based on the signal waveform of the ACK command, the abnormality of the communication path can be accurately detected from the distortion not caused by the signal collision, that is, the distortion caused by the abnormality of the communication path.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1000 includes an outdoor unit 100, an indoor unit 200, an indoor unit 300, and a remote controller 400. The outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 are mutually connected by a pair of communication lines including a communication line 510 and a communication line 520. Hereinafter, each of the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 will be referred to as communication devices as appropriate. However, when it is necessary to distinguish between a communication device that is a communication abnormality diagnosis device and a communication device that is not the communication abnormality diagnosis device, the communication device that is the communication abnormality diagnosis device may not be called a communication device.

The communication device changes the voltage applied between the pair of communication lines to transmit a command. Further, the communication device detects the level of the voltage between the pair of communication lines or the presence or absence of a change in the voltage between the pair of communication lines, and receives the command. In the present embodiment, data transmitted and received via a pair of communication lines is called a command, and the command is not necessarily limited to data that means any command. In the present embodiment, one command is transmitted and received as one frame.

Commands are roughly divided into control commands and ACK commands. The control command is a command for instructing control of the communication device of the transmission destination, a command of requesting transmission of data to the communication device of the transmission destination, a command for transmitting data to the communication device of the transmission destination, or the like. The ACK command is a command for the communication device that has received the control command to notify the communication device of the transmission source of the control command that the control command has been normally received.

The outdoor unit 100 is an air conditioner arranged outside the room which is the target space of the air conditioning control in the air conditioning system. In the present embodiment, the outdoor unit 100 has a function as a communication abnormality diagnosis device in addition to the function as an air conditioner. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the function as the communication error diagnosis device includes the function as the waveform measurement device. As shown in FIG. 2, the outdoor unit 100 includes a communication unit 11, a measurement unit 12, a storage unit 13, a main unit 14, an operation reception unit 15, a display unit 16, and a control unit 17. . The measuring unit 12 corresponds to a measuring unit. The display unit 16 corresponds to display means.

The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for connecting the outdoor unit 100 to the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 via a pair of communication lines. The communication unit 11 transmits and receives a command configured by a combination of 1 and 0 under the control of the control unit 17. The communication unit 11 executes serial communication in accordance with a carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA / CD) method. The communication unit 11 communicates by a baseband modulation method using a transmission path code such as AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion cord), NRZ (Non Return to Zero), CMI (Code Mark Inversion code), or the like. In this embodiment, NRZ is adopted as a transmission path code.

The communication unit 11 sets the voltage between the pair of communication lines to E (V) when transmitting 1 and sets the voltage between the pair of communication lines to 0 (V) when transmitting 0. The communication unit 11 switches the voltage to be applied between the pair of communication lines, for example, each time a period corresponding to the communication speed of 9600 bps elapses. Further, the communication unit 11 transmits 1 to the control unit 17 when the voltage between the pair of communication lines is E (V), and 0 when the voltage between the pair of communication lines is 0 (V). Transmit to control unit 17. The communication unit 11 executes, for example, a process of converting the voltage applied between the pair of communication lines into 1 or 0 and transmitting the voltage to the control unit 17 each time a period corresponding to the communication speed of 9600 bps elapses.

The measurement unit 12 measures a signal waveform of a command transmitted and received on the pair of communication lines. The measurement unit 12 measures a voltage waveform between the pair of communication lines according to the control of the control unit 17. That is, the measurement unit 12 samples the voltage between the pair of communication lines at a predetermined cycle. The measurement unit 12 causes the storage unit 13 to store information indicating the signal waveform obtained by the measurement (hereinafter, referred to as “waveform information” as appropriate). The measurement unit 12 includes, for example, an A / D (Analog / Digital) converter.

The storage unit 13 stores various kinds of data necessary for the air conditioning control process and the communication abnormality diagnosis process executed by the outdoor unit 100. The storage unit 13 stores, for example, an air conditioning control program for executing the air conditioning control process and a communication abnormality diagnosis program for executing the communication abnormality diagnosis process. The storage unit 13 also stores the waveform information supplied from the measurement unit 12. In addition, the storage unit 13 stores reference value information indicating a reference value of the waveform feature amount. The storage unit 13 includes, for example, a readable and writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

The main unit 14 is a component for realizing the function as an air conditioner among the functions of the outdoor unit 100. The main unit 14 includes, for example, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator.

The operation reception unit 15 receives an operation related to the air conditioning control process and the communication abnormality diagnosis process from the user. The operation related to the air conditioning control process is, for example, an operation setting operation, an operation output setting operation, and a setting temperature changing operation. The setting operation of the operation mode is, for example, an operation of setting any one of a heating operation mode, a cooling operation mode, a dehumidifying operation mode, and a blowing operation mode. The operation relating to the communication error diagnosis process is, for example, an operation instructing the start of the communication error diagnosis process, and an operation designating a communication path to be a diagnosis target of the communication error. The communication path is specified by, for example, two communication devices connected to both ends of the communication path. The operation reception unit 15 includes, for example, a touch screen and a button.

The display unit 16 displays information on the air conditioning control process and the communication abnormality diagnosis process. The information related to the air conditioning control process is, for example, information indicating an operation mode, information indicating an operation output, and information indicating a set temperature. The information related to the communication error diagnosis process is, for example, information indicating a diagnosis result. The information indicating the diagnosis result is, for example, information indicating the communication path and the presence or absence of abnormality in association with each other. The display unit 16 includes, for example, a touch screen and a liquid crystal display.

The control unit 17 generally controls the outdoor unit 100. That is, the control unit 17 executes the process related to the air conditioning control process and the communication abnormality diagnosis process. The control unit 17 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a real time clock (RTC). The CPU operates according to a program stored in the ROM and uses the RAM as a work area. The CPU has a function of clocking based on the information supplied from the RTC.

The function of the outdoor unit 100, in particular, the function of the control unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 17 functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 171, a measurement instruction unit 174, a diagnosis unit 175, an output unit 178, and an air conditioning control unit 179. These functional units are realized by the CPU executing the air conditioning control program and the communication abnormality diagnosis program stored in the storage unit 13. The measurement instruction unit 174 corresponds to a measurement instruction unit. The diagnostic unit 175 corresponds to the diagnostic means. The output unit 178 corresponds to the output means.

The transmission and reception unit 171 controls transmission and reception of commands by the communication unit 11. The transmitting and receiving unit 171 includes a transmitting unit 172 and a receiving unit 173. The transmission unit 172 corresponds to a transmission unit. The receiving unit 173 corresponds to a receiving unit. The transmission unit 172 transmits a command via the communication unit 11. For example, the transmitting unit 172 supplies a binary number forming a command to the communication unit 11, and causes the communication unit 11 to apply a voltage according to the binary number forming the command between the pair of communication lines.

The transmitting unit 172 transmits a test command to a communication device (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a “communication device of the other party of communication” as appropriate) that transmits an ACK command. The test command is a control command for transmitting an ACK command to the communication device of the communication partner. The test command is preferably a control command that does not force processing other than the processing for transmitting the ACK command to the communication device of the communication partner. The processing other than the processing for transmitting the ACK command is, for example, processing for executing control or processing for receiving data.

The test command is a type of first control command. The first control command is a control command that requests transmission of an ACK command. The first control command other than the test command is, for example, a control command that imposes some control on the communication device at the other end of communication and a process of transmitting an ACK command, or transmits some data to the communication device at the other end of communication Is a control command that forces the process of sending

The receiving unit 173 receives a command via the communication unit 11. For example, the receiving unit 173 reconstructs a command from the binary number supplied from the communication unit 11. The receiving unit 173 receives an ACK command from the communication device of the communication partner.

The measurement instruction unit 174 instructs the measurement unit 12 to measure the signal waveform according to the transmission / reception status of the command by the transmission / reception unit 171. The measurement instruction unit 174 instructs the measurement unit 12 to measure the signal waveform of the ACK command transmitted by the communication device of the communication partner. The communication device of the communication partner transmits an ACK command as an acknowledgment to the first control command when the second interval has elapsed since the reception of the first control command. Here, the second interval is shorter than the first interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command. For example, the first interval is about 20 msec, and the second interval is about 5 msec. For example, the measurement instruction unit 174 determines, between the pair of communication lines in a period until the reception unit 173 completes reception of the ACK command after the second interval elapses after transmission of the test command by the transmission unit 172 is completed. The measurement unit 12 is instructed to measure the voltage waveform.

Based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit 12, the diagnosis unit 175 diagnoses an abnormality in the communication path from the communication device of the communication partner to the outdoor unit 100, which is a communication diagnosis device. The diagnosis unit 175 includes a feature amount detection unit 176 and a determination unit 177. The feature amount detection unit 176 corresponds to a feature amount determination unit. The determination unit 177 corresponds to the determination unit. The feature amount detection unit 176 detects, from the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit 12, a waveform feature amount including at least one of a peak value, a sag, a pulse width, a rise time, and a fall time.

When the waveform feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit 176 is out of a predetermined range, the determination unit 177 determines that the communication path is abnormal. The predetermined range (hereinafter referred to as “reference value range” as appropriate) is, for example, a waveform calculated from the reference value of the waveform feature amount from the lower limit value of the waveform feature amount calculated from the reference value of the waveform feature amount It is a range up to the upper limit value of the feature amount. The lower limit value of the waveform feature amount is, for example, 80% of the reference value of the waveform feature amount. The upper limit value of the waveform feature amount is, for example, 120% of the reference value of the waveform feature amount. The reference value information stored in the storage unit 13 indicates the reference values of the waveform feature amounts of the peak value, the sag, the pulse width, the rise time, and the fall time.

It is determined whether the detected waveform feature amount falls within the reference value range for each type and each bit. In this embodiment, if all types of waveform feature quantities fall within the reference value range for all bits, it is determined that the communication path is normal, and any type of waveform feature quantities for any of the bits. Is not within the reference value range, it is determined that the communication path is abnormal.

The output unit 178 outputs the diagnosis result by the diagnosis unit 175. For example, the output unit 178 outputs information indicating the diagnosis result to the display unit 16 and causes the display unit 16 to display the diagnosis result. The air conditioning control unit 179 controls the main unit 14 to control air conditioning. The air conditioning control unit 179 controls the air conditioning in accordance with, for example, the operation accepted by the operation accepting unit 15 and the control command received by the receiving unit 173.

The indoor unit 200 is an air conditioner disposed in a room which is a target space of air conditioning control in the air conditioning system. In the present embodiment, the indoor unit 200 has a function as an air conditioner and does not have a function as a communication abnormality diagnosis device. As shown in FIG. 4, the indoor unit 200 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 23, a main unit 24, and a control unit 27.

The communication unit 21 is a communication interface for connecting the indoor unit 200 to the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 via a pair of communication lines. The communication unit 21 transmits and receives a command configured by a combination of 1 and 0 under the control of the control unit 27. The function of the communication unit 21 is basically the same as the function of the communication unit 11.

The storage unit 23 stores various data required for the air conditioning control process performed by the indoor unit 200. The storage unit 23 stores, for example, an air conditioning control program for executing the air conditioning control process. The storage unit 23 includes, for example, a readable and writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory and an EEPROM. Among the functions of the indoor unit 200, the main unit 24 is a component for realizing the function as an air conditioner. The main unit 24 includes, for example, a fan, a heat exchanger, and a temperature sensor.

The control unit 27 generally controls the indoor unit 200. That is, the control unit 27 executes a process related to the air conditioning control process. The control unit 27 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an RTC. The CPU operates according to a program stored in the ROM and uses the RAM as a work area. The CPU has a function of clocking based on the information supplied from the RTC.

The function of the indoor unit 200, in particular, the function of the control unit 27 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 27 functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 271 and an air conditioning control unit 279. These functional units are realized by the CPU executing the air conditioning control program stored in the storage unit 23.

The transmission and reception unit 271 controls transmission and reception of commands by the communication unit 21. The transmitting and receiving unit 271 includes a transmitting unit 272 and a receiving unit 273. The transmission unit 272 corresponds to a transmission unit. The receiving unit 273 corresponds to a receiving unit. The transmission unit 272 transmits a command via the communication unit 21. The receiving unit 273 receives the command via the communication unit 21. The transmitting unit 272 transmits an ACK command as a positive response to the first control command when the second interval has elapsed since the reception unit 273 received the first control command. For example, when the second interval has elapsed since the reception unit 273 receives the test command from the outdoor unit 100, the transmission unit 27 transmits, to the outdoor unit 100, an ACK command for the test command.

The air conditioning control unit 279 controls the main unit 24 to control air conditioning. The air conditioning control unit 279 controls the air conditioning, for example, in accordance with the control command received by the receiving unit 273. The indoor unit 300 is an air conditioner disposed in a room which is a target space of air conditioning control in the air conditioning system. In the present embodiment, the indoor unit 300 has a function as an air conditioner and does not have a function as a communication abnormality diagnosis device. The configuration of the indoor unit 300 is basically the same as the configuration of the indoor unit 200. That is, the indoor unit 300 has the same configuration as the communication unit 21, the storage unit 23, the main unit 24, the control unit 27, and the like. Since the function of the indoor unit 300 is basically the same as the function of the indoor unit 200, the description will be omitted.

The remote controller 400 is an operation terminal that remotely controls the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, and the indoor unit 300 in the air conditioning system. In the present embodiment, the remote controller 400 has a function as an operation terminal and does not have a function as a communication abnormality diagnosis device. As shown in FIG. 5, the remote controller 400 includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 43, an operation receiving unit 45, a display unit 46, and a control unit 47. The display unit 46 corresponds to display means.

The communication unit 41 is a communication interface for connecting the remote controller 400 to the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, and the indoor unit 300 via a pair of communication lines. The communication unit 41 transmits and receives a command configured by a combination of 1 and 0 under the control of the control unit 47. The function of the communication unit 41 is basically the same as the function of the communication unit 11.

The storage unit 43 stores various data required for the remote control process performed by the remote controller 400. The storage unit 43 stores, for example, a remote control program for executing the remote control process. The storage unit 43 includes, for example, a readable and writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory and an EEPROM.

The operation receiving unit 45 receives an operation related to the remote control process from the user. The operation relating to the remote control process is, for example, an operation for setting the operation mode, an operation for setting the operation output, and an operation for changing the set temperature. The operation receiving unit 45 includes, for example, a touch screen and a button. The display unit 46 displays information on the remote control process. The information related to the remote control process is, for example, information indicating an operation mode, information indicating an operation output, and information indicating a set temperature. The display unit 46 includes, for example, a touch screen and a liquid crystal display.

The control unit 47 centrally controls the remote controller 400. That is, the control unit 47 executes a process related to the remote control process. The control unit 47 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an RTC. The CPU operates according to a program stored in the ROM and uses the RAM as a work area. The CPU has a function of clocking based on the information supplied from the RTC.

The function of the remote controller 400, in particular, the function of the control unit 47, will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 47 functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 471. The functional unit is realized by the CPU executing the remote control program stored in the storage unit 43.

The transmission and reception unit 471 controls transmission and reception of a command by the communication unit 41. The transmitting and receiving unit 471 includes a transmitting unit 472 and a receiving unit 473. The transmission unit 472 corresponds to a transmission unit. The receiving unit 473 corresponds to a receiving unit. The transmission unit 472 transmits a command via the communication unit 41. The receiving unit 473 receives the command via the communication unit 41. The transmitting unit 472 transmits an ACK command as a positive response to the first control command when the second interval has elapsed since the receiving unit 473 received the first control command. For example, when the second interval has elapsed since the reception unit 473 receives the test command from the outdoor unit 100, the transmission unit 472 transmits, to the outdoor unit 100, an ACK command for the test command.

Communication line 510 and communication line 520 constitute a pair of communication lines for the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300 and the remote controller 400 to mutually communicate. A voltage of E (V) or 0 (V) is applied between the pair of communication lines. In the present embodiment, the pair of communication lines connect the outdoor unit 100, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 in series.

Next, the baseband modulation method employed in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the baseband modulation methods include the NRZ method using NRZ as a transmission line code, the RZ method using RZ as a transmission line code, and the AMI method using AMI as a transmission line code. In the NRZ method, a voltage between a pair of communication lines is maintained at E (V) or 0 (V) during a period representing a code for one bit (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “one bit period”). In the NRZ system, for example, the voltage between a pair of communication lines is maintained at E (V) in a 1-bit period representing 1 and the voltage between a pair of communication lines is 0 (V) in a 1-bit period representing 0. Maintained.

In the RZ method with a duty ratio of 50%, the first half period of one bit period is maintained at E (V) or 0 (V), and the second half period of one bit period is maintained at E (V). In the RZ system with a duty ratio of 50%, for example, the voltage between a pair of communication lines is maintained at E (V) during 1 bit period representing 1 and the first half period of 1 bit period representing 0 is a pair The voltage between the communication lines is maintained at 0 (V), and the voltage between the pair of communication lines is maintained at E (V) in the second half of the 1-bit period representing 0.

In the AMI system with a duty ratio of 50%, E (V), -E (V) or 0 (V) is maintained in the first half of one bit period, and E (V) in the second half of one bit period. Maintained). In the AMI system with a duty ratio of 50%, for example, the voltage between a pair of communication lines is maintained at 0 (V) during 1 bit period representing 1 and the first half period of 1 bit period representing 0 is a pair The voltage between the communication lines is maintained at E (V) or -E (V), and the voltage between the pair of communication lines is maintained at 0 (V) in the second half of the 1-bit period representing 0. In the first half period of a 1-bit period representing 0, the polarity of the voltage between the pair of communication lines is switched every time 0 is transmitted.

In any of the encoding methods, the logic assigned to the voltage between the pair of communication lines can be reversed. Here, when there is an abnormality in the communication path, the signal waveform may be greatly distorted. An abnormality in the communication path is a failure in the communication path, for example, a contact failure between the communication line 510 or communication line 520 and the communication device, or a specified length in which the total length of the communication line 510 or communication line 520 is predetermined. This is an abnormality caused by the excess communication line length. When the signal waveform is greatly distorted, for example, the peak value of the signal waveform is significantly reduced.

However, the cause of distortion of the signal waveform is not limited to an abnormality in the communication path, but may be a collision of control commands. And, in the winning CDMA / CD system, the winning communication device can not detect that the control command has collided. That is, when diagnosing an abnormality in the communication path based on the signal waveform of the control command, if there is a collision of control commands even if there is no abnormality in the communication path, it may be diagnosed as an abnormality in the communication path. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the abnormality in the communication path is diagnosed based on the signal waveform of the ACK command secured not to collide with another command. Hereinafter, the reason why the ACK command is a command secured not to collide with other commands will be described.

First, the winning CDMA / CD system will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, communication control according to the winning CDMA / CD system is realized according to the following procedures (1) to (6). (1) The communication device issues a control command transmission request. (2) Wait until the no signal time on the pair of communication lines, which has been constantly measured, becomes equal to or greater than the first interval. However, immediately after (1), when the no signal time is equal to or longer than the first interval, the process immediately shifts to (3). The non-signal time is a time during which no signal appears on the pair of communication lines. That is, the no signal time is the length of a period in which the bit data constituting the command is not transmitted.

(3) Substitute 1 into i. That is, i = 1. (4) A communication signal obtained by encoding the ith bit data of the control command is transmitted to the pair of communication lines. (5) The bit data being transmitted and the bit data on the pair of communication lines are collated. (6) If the comparison results do not match, it is determined that a signal collision has occurred, transmission of bit data subsequent to the next bit is stopped, and the process returns to (2). When the process returns to (2), the retransmission process is executed from the bit data of the first bit. When the collation result is a match and the bit data of the final bit has been transmitted, the transmission of the control command is completed. If the collation result is a match and the bit data of the final bit has not been transmitted, then i = i + 1 is set, and the process returns to (4) to transmit the bit data of the next bit.

FIG. 7 shows an example when the transmission data of the indoor unit 200 and the transmission data of the indoor unit 300 collide. The transmission data of the indoor unit 200 is a control command transmitted by the indoor unit 200. The transmission data of the indoor unit 300 is a control command transmitted by the indoor unit 300. First, data on a pair of communication lines is 0 when one or more communication devices transmit 0, 1 when all communication devices transmit 1 or all communication devices do not transmit data. Shall be

From the first bit to the third bit, the data transmitted by the indoor unit 200 matches the data on the pair of communication lines. Therefore, the indoor unit 200 does not detect a data collision from the first bit to the third bit. Here, in the fourth bit, the data transmitted by the indoor unit 200 does not match the data on the pair of communication lines. Therefore, at the 4th bit, the indoor unit 200 detects that the data on the pair of communication lines is 0 even though the data transmitted by the indoor unit 200 is 1, and detects a data collision. . Then, the indoor unit 200 stops the transmission of the data of the fifth and subsequent bits. On the other hand, the data transmitted by the indoor unit 300 matches the data on the pair of communication lines over all the bits. Therefore, the indoor unit 300 does not detect data collisions until all bits are transmitted.

Next, the first interval and the second interval will be described with reference to FIG. First, the data format of the control command will be described. The control command includes, for example, a header, a destination address, a self address, a command length, a command type, command data, and a check code. The header is header information of the control command. The destination address is the address of the communication device to which the control command is to be sent. The self address is the address of the communication device that has sent the control command. A unique address in the communication system 1000 is assigned to the communication device. Therefore, when control commands are simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of communication devices, at least a difference occurs in the self address, so that signal collision is detected at the latest before the transmission of the self address is completed.

The command length is the length of the control command. The command type is a type of whether it is a normal control command or a test command. The normal control command is a control command other than the test command. Command data is the content of the control command. The check code is data for detecting a data error of the received control command. The data format of the ACK command may be the same as the data format of the control command, or may be different from the data format of the control command.

The first interval is an interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command, and is a non-signal time which should be secured at a minimum immediately before the control command is transmitted. When transmitting the control command, the communication device can not transmit the control command during the period from the completion of the transmission of the immediately preceding command to the elapse of the first interval. The immediately preceding command may be a control command or an ACK command. Also, the command immediately before this may be a command transmitted by the communication device that transmits the control command, or may be a command transmitted by another communication device. That is, regardless of whether the immediately preceding command is the command transmitted by itself or the immediately preceding command is the control command or the ACK command, the first interval is before the transmission of the control command. It is an interval to be secured.

That is, the communication device immediately starts transmission of the control command when the transmission request of the control command is generated after the first interval has elapsed since the transmission of the immediately preceding command is completed. On the other hand, when the communication device requests transmission of the control command before the first interval elapses after transmission of the immediately preceding command is completed, the first interval elapses after transmission of the immediately preceding command is completed. Wait until and then start sending control commands. Here, when a plurality of communication devices enter a standby state during the period from the completion of the transmission of the immediately preceding command to the elapse of the first interval, the transmission of control commands is simultaneously started, and a signal collision occurs.

On the other hand, the second interval is an interval defined as a waiting time from the completion of transmission of a control command to the start of transmission of an ACK command, and is a no-signal time secured immediately before transmission of the ACK command. is there. Here, the second interval is set shorter than the first interval. Therefore, the ACK command transmitted in response to the control command for which transmission has been completed is always transmitted before other control commands. Therefore, the ACK command does not collide with other commands, and the signal waveform of the ACK command does not distort due to the signal collision. That is, by detecting communication abnormality of the communication path based on the signal waveform of the ACK command, it is possible to eliminate false detection caused by signal collision.

Next, waveform feature quantities will be described with reference to FIG. The waveform feature amount includes, for example, a peak value, a sag, a pulse width, a rise time, and a fall time. The peak value is the maximum value of the voltage of the pulse. The sag is the difference between the voltage at the rise of the pulse and the voltage at the onset of the fall of the pulse, and is the drop in voltage at the top of the pulse. The magnitude of the sag is expressed as a ratio of the voltage drop value to the peak value. The pulse width is the time from when the voltage of the pulse rises to 50% of the peak value to when it falls to 50% of the peak value. The rise time is the time taken for the voltage of the pulse to increase from 10% of the peak value to 90% of the peak value. The fall time is the time taken for the voltage of the pulse to decrease from 90% of the peak value to 10% of the peak value.

Next, the communication abnormality diagnosis process executed by the outdoor unit 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The communication error diagnosis process is repeatedly performed, for example, while the outdoor unit 100 is powered on.

First, the control unit 17 determines whether or not there is a start instruction (step S101). The control unit 17 determines, for example, whether or not an operation instructing the start of the communication error diagnosis process has been performed on the operation receiving unit 15 by the user. If the control unit 17 determines that there is no start instruction (step S101: NO), the process returns to step S101. On the other hand, when determining that there is a start instruction (step S101: YES), the control unit 17 selects a communication device (step S102). The control unit 17 selects one communication device from the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400.

When the process of step S102 is completed, the control unit 17 transmits a test command to the selected communication device (step S103). Specifically, the transmission unit 172 transmits, via the communication unit 11, a test command in which the address of the selected communication device is set as the destination address and the address of the outdoor unit 100 is set as the self address. Do. The transmitting unit 172 transmits the test command after the no-signal time exceeds the first interval. The no signal time can be measured by measuring the elapsed time after the reception unit 173 completes the reception of the last command. In the present embodiment, the receiving unit 173 receives the command even if the command is not directed to the outdoor unit 100.

Here, the selected communication device, that is, the communication device that has received the test command, transmits an ACK command after the second interval has elapsed since the reception of the test command is completed. After completing the process of step S103, the control unit 17 stands by until the second interval elapses from the transmission of the test command (step S104).

After completing the process of step S104, the control unit 17 starts measurement of the signal waveform (step S105). Specifically, measurement instruction unit 174 transmits to measurement unit 12 a start instruction signal instructing the start of measurement of the signal waveform. On the other hand, in response to the reception of the start instruction signal, measurement unit 12 starts sampling of the voltage between the pair of communication lines, and starts measurement of the signal waveform. When the control unit 17 completes the process of step S105, the control unit 17 receives an ACK command (step S106). Specifically, the receiving unit 173 receives the ACK command transmitted from the selected communication device via the communication unit 11.

After completing the process of step S106, the control unit 17 ends the measurement of the signal waveform (step S107). Specifically, measurement instruction unit 174 transmits, to measurement unit 12, an end instruction signal instructing the end of measurement of the signal waveform. On the other hand, in response to the reception of the termination instruction signal, the measurement unit 12 terminates the sampling of the voltage between the pair of communication lines, and terminates the measurement of the signal waveform. The measuring unit 12 causes the storage unit 13 to store waveform information indicating the measured signal waveform. When the process of step S107 is completed, the control unit 17 detects the waveform feature amount (step S108). Specifically, the feature quantity detection unit 176 detects various waveform feature quantities for each bit from the signal waveform indicated by the waveform information stored in the storage unit 13.

After completing the process of step S108, the control unit 17 diagnoses an abnormality of the communication path (step S109). Specifically, the determination unit 177 determines, for each bit, whether or not the waveform feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit 176 falls within the reference value range indicated by the reference value information stored in the storage unit 13. And it discriminates for every kind of waveform feature amount. Then, when determining that all types of waveform feature amounts for all bits are within the reference value range, the determination unit 177 determines that there is no abnormality in the communication path. On the other hand, when determining that one of the waveform feature quantities of any type is out of the reference value range in any of the bits, the determination unit 177 determines that there is an abnormality in the communication path. The communication path is a communication path from the selected communication device to the outdoor unit 100.

After completing the process of step S109, the control unit 17 determines whether there is an unselected communication device (step S110). When determining that there is an unselected communication device (step S110: YES), the control unit 17 returns the process to step S102, and newly selects an unselected communication device. On the other hand, when determining that there is no unselected communication device (step S110: NO), the control unit 17 displays a diagnosis result (step S111). Specifically, the output unit 178 supplies information indicating the diagnosis result acquired from the diagnosis unit 175 to the display unit 16 and causes the display unit 16 to display the diagnosis result.

On the other hand, the display unit 16 displays the diagnosis result based on the information indicating the diagnosis result. The display unit 16 displays the diagnosis result by, for example, associating and displaying the information indicating the communication path and the information indicating the diagnosis result. For example, “the display 16 has no abnormality in the communication path from the outdoor unit 100 to the indoor unit 200. There is no abnormality in the communication path from the outdoor unit 100 to the indoor unit 300. Communication from the outdoor unit 100 to the remote controller 400 There is an abnormality in the path, so it is presumed that there is an abnormality in the communication path from the indoor unit 300 to the remote controller 400. When the control unit 17 completes the process of step S111, the process returns to step S101.

In this embodiment, after the communication device receives the first control command, an ACK command transmitted by the communication device when a second interval shorter than the first interval determined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed. An abnormality in the communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis device is diagnosed based on the signal waveform. That is, in the present embodiment, an abnormality in the communication path is diagnosed on the basis of the signal waveform of the ACK command guaranteed to be free from command collision. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose an abnormality of the communication path with high accuracy.

In the present embodiment, a test command for causing the communication device to transmit an ACK command is transmitted to the communication device. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose abnormality of the communication path promptly and accurately.

In the present embodiment, if the waveform feature amount including at least one of the peak value, the sag, the pulse width, the rise time, and the fall time is out of a predetermined range, the communication path is abnormal. It is determined. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose abnormality of the communication path promptly and accurately.

Further, in the present embodiment, the outdoor unit 100 that is an air conditioner is the communication abnormality diagnosis device. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the configuration provided in the outdoor unit 100, for example, the communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 171 can be diverted as the configuration of the communication abnormality diagnosis device. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose the abnormality of the communication path with high accuracy at low cost.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the outdoor unit 100 serving as the communication error diagnosis device acquires a signal waveform of an ACK command transmitted in response to the communication device receiving a test command from the outdoor unit 100. In the present embodiment, the outdoor unit 100, which is the communication abnormality diagnosis device, transmits in response to the communication device receiving the first control command from another communication device (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "second communication device"). An example of acquiring a signal waveform of an ACK command will be described. The configuration of the outdoor unit 100 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the configuration of the outdoor unit 100 shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the communication abnormality diagnosis process performed by the outdoor unit 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. The communication error diagnosis process is repeatedly performed, for example, while the outdoor unit 100 is powered on.

First, the control unit 17 determines whether there is a first control command for requesting an ACK command (step S201). For example, the control unit 17 determines whether the receiving unit 173 receives a first control command in which the address of a communication device other than the outdoor unit 100 is set as the destination address and the address of the second communication device is set as the own address. Determine if In the present embodiment, the reception unit 173 also receives a command not addressed to the outdoor unit 100. If the control unit 17 determines that there is no first control command requesting an ACK command (step S201: NO), the process returns to step S201.

If the control unit 17 determines that there is a first control command requesting an ACK command (step S201: YES), the control unit 17 stands by until a second interval elapses from the transmission of the first control command (step S202). That is, the control unit 17 waits until the second interval elapses after the reception unit 173 completes the reception of the first control command.

After completing the process of step S202, the control unit 17 starts measurement of the signal waveform (step S203). After completing the process of step S203, the control unit 17 waits until the transmission of the ACK command is completed (step S204). Specifically, the reception unit 173 waits until the reception of the ACK command is completed.

When the control unit 17 completes the process of step S204, the control unit 17 ends the measurement of the signal waveform (step S205). When the process of step S205 is completed, the control unit 17 detects the waveform feature amount (step S206). When the process of step S206 is completed, the control unit 17 diagnoses an abnormality of the communication path (step S207). The communication path is a communication path from the communication device which has received the first control command and transmitted the ACK command to the outdoor unit 100.

When the process of step S207 is completed, the control unit 17 displays the diagnosis result (step S208). Specifically, the output unit 178 supplies information indicating the diagnosis result acquired from the diagnosis unit 175 to the display unit 16 and causes the display unit 16 to display the diagnosis result. On the other hand, the display unit 16 displays the diagnosis result based on the information indicating the diagnosis result. For example, the display unit 16 displays a message “There is no abnormality in the communication path from the outdoor unit 100 to the indoor unit 200.” Preferably, the message displayed by the display unit 16 is added or updated each time an ACK command is transmitted by a new communication device. When the control unit 17 completes the process of step S208, the process returns to step S201.

In the present embodiment, communication from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis device based on the signal waveform of the ACK command transmitted to the second communication device in response to the first control command received from the second communication device. An abnormality in the pathway is diagnosed. That is, in the present embodiment, there is no need for the communication abnormality diagnosis device to transmit a test command in order to cause the communication device to transmit an ACK command. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose an abnormality of the communication path with high accuracy with a simple configuration.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, an example in which the communication abnormality diagnosis device is the outdoor unit 100 has been described. In the present invention, the communication abnormality diagnosis device may or may not be an air conditioner other than the outdoor unit 100. The air conditioners other than the outdoor unit 100 are, for example, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, or the remote controller 400. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, an example in which the communication abnormality diagnosis device is not an air conditioner, that is, an example in which the communication abnormality diagnosis device is not incorporated in an air conditioner will be described. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication system 1100 according to the present embodiment includes an outdoor unit 110, an indoor unit 200, an indoor unit 300, a remote controller 400, and a communication abnormality diagnosis device 600. The configuration of the outdoor unit 110 is basically the configuration excluding the configuration relating to the communication abnormality diagnosis processing from the configuration of the indoor unit 100.

The configuration of the communication error diagnosis device 600 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 includes a communication unit 61, a measurement unit 62, a storage unit 63, an operation reception unit 65, a display unit 66, and a control unit 67. The measuring unit 62 corresponds to a measuring unit. The display unit 66 corresponds to display means. The communication unit 61, the measurement unit 62, the storage unit 63, the operation reception unit 65, the display unit 66, and the control unit 67 basically have the communication unit 11, the measurement unit 12, the storage unit 13, and the operation reception unit 15, respectively. The configuration is the same as that of the display unit 16 and the control unit 17. That is, the configuration of the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 is basically a configuration in which the main unit 14 is excluded from the configuration of the outdoor unit 100. The communication error diagnosis device 600 also has a function as a waveform measurement device.

That is, the communication unit 61 is a communication interface for connecting the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 to the outdoor unit 110, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400 via the pair of communication lines. The measuring unit 62 measures a signal waveform of a command transmitted and received on the pair of communication lines. The storage unit 63 stores various data necessary for the communication error diagnosis process performed by the communication error diagnosis device 600. The storage unit 63 stores, for example, a communication abnormality diagnosis program for executing communication abnormality diagnosis processing. In addition, the storage unit 63 stores the waveform information supplied from the measurement unit 62. Further, the storage unit 63 stores reference value information indicating a reference value of the waveform feature amount. The control unit 67 generally controls the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600. That is, the control unit 67 executes a process related to the communication error diagnosis process.

As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 67 functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 671, a measurement instruction unit 674, a diagnosis unit 675, and an output unit 678. The measurement instruction unit 674 corresponds to a measurement instruction unit. The diagnostic unit 675 corresponds to the diagnostic means. The output unit 678 corresponds to the output unit. These functional units are realized by the CPU executing the communication error diagnosis program stored in the storage unit 63. The transmission / reception unit 671, the measurement instruction unit 674, the diagnosis unit 675, and the output unit 678 basically have the same configuration as the transmission / reception unit 171, the measurement instruction unit 174, the diagnosis unit 175, and the output unit 178. That is, the functional configuration of the control unit 67 is basically a configuration in which the air conditioning control unit 179 is excluded from the functional configuration of the control unit 17.

That is, the transmission and reception unit 671 controls transmission and reception of the command by the communication unit 61. The transmitting and receiving unit 671 includes a transmitting unit 672 and a receiving unit 673. The transmission unit 672 corresponds to a transmission unit. The receiving unit 673 corresponds to a receiving unit. The transmission unit 672 transmits a command via the communication unit 61. The receiving unit 673 receives the command via the communication unit 61. The measurement instruction unit 674 instructs the measurement unit 62 to measure the signal waveform according to the transmission / reception status of the command by the transmission / reception unit 671.

Based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit 62, the diagnosis unit 675 diagnoses an abnormality in the communication path from the communication device of the communication partner to the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600. The diagnosis unit 675 includes a feature detection unit 676 and a determination unit 677. The feature amount detection unit 676 corresponds to a feature amount detection unit. The determination unit 677 corresponds to the determination unit. The feature amount detection unit 676 detects, from the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit 62, a waveform feature amount including at least one of the peak value, the sag, the pulse width, the rise time, and the fall time. When the waveform feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit 676 is out of a predetermined range, the determination unit 677 determines that the communication path is abnormal. The output unit 678 outputs the diagnosis result by the diagnosis unit 675.

In the present embodiment, the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 is disposed in the vicinity of the indoor unit 200, and the connection portion between the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 and the pair of communication lines and the connection portion between the indoor unit 200 and the pair of communication lines are extremely It will be close. Therefore, with regard to the diagnosis of the communication path, it can be regarded that the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 is incorporated in the indoor unit 200. For example, the communication path from the outdoor unit 110 to the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 can be regarded as the communication path from the outdoor unit 110 to the indoor unit 200. Further, the communication path from the indoor unit 300 to the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 can be regarded as the communication path from the indoor unit 300 to the indoor unit 200. Further, the communication path from the remote controller 400 to the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 can be regarded as the communication path from the remote controller 400 to the indoor unit 200.

For example, “the communication unit from the outdoor unit 100 to the indoor unit 200 has no abnormality. The communication path from the indoor unit 300 to the indoor unit 200 has an abnormality. The communication from the remote controller 400 to the indoor unit 200” There is an abnormality in the path, so it is presumed that there is an abnormality in the communication path from the indoor unit 200 to the indoor unit 300. " The communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 can diagnose an abnormality in the communication path from the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 to the indoor unit 200. When this communication path is diagnosed as abnormal, a contact failure of a connection portion between the indoor unit 200 and the pair of communication lines, a failure inside the communication unit 21 provided in the indoor unit 200, or the like may be considered.

In the present embodiment, the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 is provided as a configuration different from the air conditioner. That is, in the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose an abnormality in the communication path without changing the configuration of the air conditioner. Further, in the present embodiment, the connection points to the pair of communication lines of the communication error diagnosis device 600 can be easily changed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose the abnormality of the communication path accurately at low cost and easily.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, an example in which only the outdoor unit 100 is the communication abnormality diagnosis device has been described. In the present invention, the air conditioner other than the outdoor unit 100 may be the communication abnormality diagnosis device. In the present embodiment, an example in which all the air conditioners are communication abnormality diagnosis devices will be described. A communication system (not shown) according to the present embodiment functions as an outdoor unit 120 functioning as a communication abnormality diagnosis device, two indoor units (not shown) functioning as a communication abnormality diagnosis device, and a communication abnormality diagnosis device. And a remote controller 410. The communication error diagnosis apparatus in the present embodiment also has a function as a waveform measurement apparatus.

The outdoor unit 120 includes a communication unit 11, a measurement unit 12, a storage unit 13, a main unit 14, and a control unit 17. That is, the configuration of the outdoor unit 120 is a configuration in which the operation receiving unit 15 and the display unit 16 are excluded from the configuration of the outdoor unit 100. Further, the control unit 17 according to the present embodiment functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 171, a measurement instruction unit 174, a diagnosis unit 175, an output unit 178, and an air conditioning control unit 179. The functional configuration of the control unit 17 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as the functional configuration of the control unit 17 according to the first embodiment.

However, the outdoor unit 120 does not include the operation reception unit 15 that receives an operation for instructing the start of the communication error diagnosis process. Therefore, for example, the outdoor unit 120 starts the communication abnormality diagnosis process according to the control command received from the remote controller 410 including the operation reception unit 45 that receives the operation instructing the start of the communication abnormality diagnosis process. In addition, the outdoor unit 120 does not include the display unit 16 that displays the diagnosis result. Therefore, the outdoor unit 120 transmits, for example, a control command indicating the diagnosis result to the remote controller 410 including the display unit 46 displaying the diagnosis result via the communication unit 11, and displays the diagnosis result on the display unit 46. Let

The configuration of the two indoor units (not shown) adds the measuring unit 12 to the configuration of the indoor unit 200 shown in FIG. 4 and diagnoses the measurement instructing unit 174 and the functional configuration of the control unit 27 shown in FIG. The configuration corresponding to the unit 175 and the output unit 178 is added.

The remote controller 410 includes a communication unit 41, a measurement unit 42, a storage unit 43, an operation reception unit 45, a display unit 46, and a control unit 47. That is, the configuration of the remote controller 410 is a configuration in which the measuring unit 42 is added to the configuration of the remote controller 400. The measuring unit 42 corresponds to a measuring unit. The measuring unit 42 measures the signal waveforms on the pair of communication lines in the same manner as the measuring unit 12. Similar to the storage unit 13, the storage unit 43 stores a communication error diagnosis program, waveform information, and reference value information. The operation receiving unit 45 receives an operation related to the communication error diagnosis process, as the operation receiving unit 15 does.

The control unit 47 included in the remote controller 410 functionally includes a transmission / reception unit 471, a measurement instruction unit 474, a diagnosis unit 475, and an output unit 478. The measurement instruction unit 474 corresponds to a measurement instruction unit. The diagnostic unit 475 corresponds to the diagnostic means. The output unit 478 corresponds to an output unit. The transmission and reception unit 471 transmits and receives a command via the communication unit 41. The transmitting unit 472 transmits a control command instructing start of the communication abnormality diagnosis process to another air conditioner via the communication unit 41. The receiving unit 473 receives a control command indicating a diagnosis result from another air conditioner via the communication unit 41. The measurement instruction unit 474 causes the measurement unit 42 to measure the signal waveform according to the transmission / reception status of the command by the transmission / reception unit 471. The diagnosis unit 475 diagnoses an abnormality of the communication path in accordance with the waveform information stored in the storage unit 43. The output unit 478 transmits information indicating the diagnosis result by the remote controller 410 and the diagnosis result by another air conditioner to the display unit 46, and causes the display unit 46 to display these diagnosis results. Further, the output unit 478 can comprehensively judge all the diagnosis results, obtain accurate diagnosis results, and can display the obtained diagnosis results on the display unit 46.

In the present embodiment, all the air conditioners function as a communication abnormality diagnosis device, and the abnormality of the communication path between the two air conditioners is diagnosed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose the abnormality of the communication path with higher accuracy.

Further, in the present embodiment, the operation accepting unit included in any of the air conditioners accepts an operation instructing the start of the communication abnormality diagnosis process, and the display unit included in any of the air conditioners displays the diagnostic result. . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to diagnose the abnormality of the communication path with high accuracy at low cost.

(Modification)
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, in implementation of this invention, the deformation | transformation and application by various forms are possible.

In the present invention, which part of the configuration, function, and operation described in the above embodiment is adopted is optional. Further, in the present invention, in addition to the above-described configurations, functions, and operations, further configurations, functions, and operations may be adopted. Further, the configurations, functions, and operations described in the above embodiments can be freely combined.

For example, in the first embodiment, the example in which the diagnosis results of all the communication paths are displayed has been described. In the present invention, for example, only the diagnosis results of a part of the communication paths designated by the operation accepted by the operation accepting unit 15 may be displayed. Further, in the first embodiment, an example in which it is diagnosed that there is no abnormality in the communication path has been described only when it is determined that all types of waveform feature amounts in all the bits are within the reference value range. In the present invention, it may be diagnosed that there is no abnormality in the communication path, for example, when the proportion of bits whose waveform feature quantities of all types are within the reference value range is equal to or more than a predetermined proportion. This ratio is, for example, about 80%.

In the third embodiment, an example in which the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 is disposed in the vicinity of the indoor unit 200 has been described. In the present invention, the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 may be disposed in the vicinity of any of the outdoor unit 110, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, and the remote controller 400. In the third embodiment, an example in which the communication error diagnosis device 600 transmits a test command has been described. In the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the communication error diagnosis device 600 may not transmit the test command.

In the fourth embodiment, an example has been described in which all the air conditioners include the diagnosis unit. In the present invention, only some of the air conditioners may have the diagnosis unit. In this case, for example, the air conditioner without the diagnosis unit transmits the waveform information or the waveform feature amount according to the control command to the air conditioner including the diagnosis unit, and causes the air conditioner including the diagnosis unit to diagnose an abnormality of the communication path. Just do it.

In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which measurement of the signal waveform is started when the second interval has elapsed since the transmission of the test command, that is, when the transmission of the ACK signal is started. In the present invention, measurement of the signal waveform may be started immediately before transmission of the ACK signal is started, that is, immediately before the second interval elapses from transmission of the test command. In such a configuration, for example, measurement leakage at the rising portion of the voltage waveform can be suppressed. In the first embodiment, an example in which the communication system 1000 is an air conditioning system built in a home has been described. The communication system 1000 may be an air conditioning system built in a building. In addition, the communication system 1000 may not be an air conditioning system. Communication system 1000 may be a lighting system that controls a lighting device.

The operation program defining the operation of the outdoor unit 100, the outdoor unit 110, the outdoor unit 120, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, the remote controller 400, the remote controller 410 and the communication abnormality diagnosis device 600 according to the present invention By applying the personal computer etc. to the information terminal device, the outdoor unit 100, the outdoor unit 110, the outdoor unit 120, the indoor unit 200, the indoor unit 300, the remote controller 400, the remote controller 410, the communication abnormality diagnosis device according to the present invention. It is also possible to function as 600. Also, the distribution method of such a program is arbitrary, and for example, it is stored by being stored in a computer readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a memory card. It may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet.

The present invention is capable of various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, the embodiment described above is for describing the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is indicated not by the embodiments but by the claims. And, various modifications applied within the scope of the claims and the meaning of the invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is applicable to a communication system in which a plurality of communication devices communicate via a pair of communication lines.

11, 21, 41, 61 communication unit, 12, 42, 62 measurement unit, 13, 23, 43, 63 storage unit, 14, 24 main unit, 15, 45, 65 operation reception unit, 16, 46, 66 display unit 17, 27, 47, 67 control unit, 100, 110, 120 outdoor unit, 171, 271, 471, 671 transmission / reception unit, 172, 272, 472, 672 transmission unit, 173, 273, 473, 673 reception unit, 174 , 474, 674 measurement instruction unit, 175, 475, 675 diagnosis unit, 176, 476, 676 feature amount detection unit, 177, 477, 677 determination unit, 178, 478, 678 output unit, 179, 279 air conditioning control unit, 200 , 300 indoor unit, 400, 410 remote controller, 510, 520 communication line, 600 communication abnormality diagnostic equipment , 1000 and 1100 communication system

Claims (8)

1. A communication abnormality diagnosis device connected to a communication device via a pair of communication lines, the communication abnormality diagnosis device comprising:
   The communication device receives the first control command of the control command after the communication device receives the first control command, and a second interval shorter than the first interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed. Measuring means for measuring a signal waveform of an ACK command transmitted as an acknowledgment to the control command;
   A diagnosis unit that diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis apparatus based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit;
   And output means for outputting a diagnosis result by the diagnosis means.
   Communication error diagnosis device.
2. The first control command is a test command for causing the communication device to transmit the ACK command,
   Transmitting means for transmitting the test command to the communication device;
   And receiving means for receiving the ACK command from the communication device;
   The measuring means is between the pair of communication lines in a period from when the second interval has elapsed after transmission of the test command by the transmitting means is completed to when reception of the ACK command by the receiving means is completed. Measuring a voltage waveform as the signal waveform,
   The communication abnormality diagnosis device according to claim 1.
3. The first control command is transmitted from the second communication device connected to the communication device via the pair of communication lines to the communication device.
   The measurement means is in a period from the lapse of the second interval after the transmission of the first control command by the second communication device is completed to the time when the reception of the ACK command by the second communication device is completed. Measuring a voltage waveform between a pair of communication lines as the signal waveform;
   The communication abnormality diagnosis device according to claim 1.
4. The diagnostic means is
   Feature quantity detection means for detecting, from the signal waveform, a waveform feature quantity including at least one of a peak value, a sag, a pulse width, a rise time, and a fall time;
   Determining means for determining that the communication path is abnormal in communication when the waveform feature amount detected by the feature amount detection means is out of a predetermined range.
   The communication abnormality diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. The communication device is any of an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, and a remote controller,
   The communication abnormality diagnosis device is any one of the outdoor unit, the indoor unit, and the remote controller other than the communication device.
   The communication abnormality diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. A communication system, comprising: a communication device; and a communication abnormality diagnosis device connected to the communication device via a pair of communication lines,
   The communication device is
   Receiving means for receiving a first control command of the control commands;
   As a positive response to the first control command when a second interval shorter than the first interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed since the first control command was received by the receiving means And transmission means for transmitting an ACK command,
   The communication error diagnosis device is
   Measuring means for measuring the signal waveform of the ACK command transmitted by the communication device;
   A diagnosis unit that diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis apparatus based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit;
   And display means for displaying a diagnosis result by the diagnosis means.
   Communications system.
7. When a communication device receives a first control command of control commands via a pair of communication lines, and a second interval shorter than the first interval set as the minimum transmission interval of the control command elapses Sending an ACK command as an acknowledgment to the first control command,
   A waveform measurement apparatus connected to the communication device via the pair of communication lines measures a signal waveform of the ACK command transmitted by the communication device;
   A communication abnormality diagnosis device diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the communication device to the waveform measurement device based on the signal waveform measured by the waveform measurement device.
   Communication error diagnosis method.
8. A computer provided with a communication error diagnosis apparatus connected to a communication device via a pair of communication lines;
   The communication device receives the first control command of the control command after the communication device receives the first control command, and a second interval shorter than the first interval defined as the minimum transmission interval of the control command has elapsed. Measurement instruction means for causing the measurement means to measure the signal waveform of the ACK command transmitted as an acknowledgment to the control command;
   A diagnosis unit that diagnoses an abnormality in a communication path from the communication device to the communication abnormality diagnosis apparatus based on the signal waveform measured by the measurement unit;
   Function as output means for outputting the diagnosis result by the diagnosis means to display means,
   program.

Images